Help with inverter wiring

[stef57]

I am installing an inverter in my 5th wheel. smallish one, 1200watts. basically only used to fire up the entertainment system on rainy days and coffee maker in the morning....
I have it hooked up to the batteries via a 200A fuse, have a 12AWG SOW wire running from it to the converter.
the plugs I want to run with it are split between 2 breakers, both are 15A
#1 has reefer & GFI plugs (kitchen, bath & outside)
#2 has converter and utility plugs
my plan is to switch the converter and the GFI plugs around so that my converter will only have to be hooked to 1 breaker to run the plugs. (GFI's and utilities)

Now my issue is, how do i make this work??:@
I want the inverter to run my plugs when i am dry camping but I want shore power to take priority when it is plugged in...
If I hook the inverter to the breaker, I will get power going back to it when shore power is hooked up right?
I thought of hooking the inverter to a disconnect switch it off before i plug in the shore cord but I guarantee that at some point I will forget to do so....:S
There is gotta be a safer and more foul proof alternative.:h
Any help would be greatly appreciated:)

[stef57]

westend wrote:
"I have it hooked up to the batteries via a 200A fuse, have a 12AWG SOW wire running from it to the converter."

Does this mean you have the DC wiring from the batteries to the converter using 12 AWG? If so, your fuse won't protect the wire in case of catastrophe and the inverter is going to see a huge voltage drop. For a Xanterx SW 1000, the recommended DC wiring is #2 AWG.

I have a 200A inline fuse on the DC side which is hooked up to the batteries with #2 AWG welding cables.
The AC side running from the In deter to the panel is #12 AWG

[time2roll]

Two circuits... go with two transfer switches. First move the converter to a separate breaker. Also verify if the fridge is on one of the circuits. (now I read you have already found that) I put a note by my power switch to put the fridge on propane only while in use.

1200w or 300w is your choice especially if you will soon be moving to 4x GC2.

300w you can probably use existing 12v wire to the battery. Mount right behind the electric panel. 1200w you need to pull 120v wire from inverter close to the battery to the distribution panel. 1200w needs to have short fat 12v wire. I have done both ways.

Install transfer switches. Transfer switches have two input(power source) and one output (load). Remove the circuit romex H,N,G from the panel and connect to the load side (output) of the transfer switch. Connect inverter to the default input and a new piece of romex H,N,G from the breaker panel to the other transfer switch input. Repete for the second circuit. Inverter on and enjoy. Or plug in and it operates like oem.

I recommend sine wave only. 300w I like Go Power and Morningstar. Both have a remote power switch provision. I have and use the GoPower. Whatever the choice make sure there is no issue connecting to an RV distribution system before you spend money.

Also verify full wattage is available at a single outlet if you need full wattage to run coffee maker etc. Some give half power at each outlet.

I recommend the 15a Xantrex Prowatt transfer switch.

[2oldman]

stef57 wrote:
inverter

That's a pretty cheap inverter. Good luck with it.

stef57 wrote:
I have it hooked up to the batteries via a 200A fuse, have a 12AWG SOW wire running from it to the converter.

I also do not get this part.

[westend]

"I have it hooked up to the batteries via a 200A fuse, have a 12AWG SOW wire running from it to the converter."

Does this mean you have the DC wiring from the batteries to the converter using 12 AWG? If so, your fuse won't protect the wire in case of catastrophe and the inverter is going to see a huge voltage drop. For a Xanterx SW 1000, the recommended DC wiring is #2 AWG.

[Pauljdav]

To eliminate any possibility of something going wrong when switching from inverter to full hook ups I simply added 2 plugs from my inverter to areas I knew I would want power when dry camping. My TV and electronics are always plugged into my inverter plug. If I want top use the microwave I turn on the generator. I am very happy with how this works.

Paul

[RoyB]

I basically just installed my 600W pure sign wave INVERTER as close to the batteries as i can get it and used 4AWG cables going to the battey connection through a 130AMP fuse block I think is what I have.

The 120VAC OUTLETS of the INVERTER go to two regular 120VAC HD extension cords with one drop near the Home Entertainment Center and the other extension cord drop to the night table near the bed. My extension cords are all routed out-of-sight with nothing visible except the 120VAC extension cord multi-tap receptacle mounted on the back of the cabinet top.

These two drops are my "120VAC emergency power" source and is always on when the INVERTER is turned on. My home entertainment items are all plugged into this source even when we are camping at electric sites.

As others has suggested here the INVERTERs are really power hungary and will deplete a 12VDC battery in short order. I was setup for 255AH battery capacity and just running the home entertainment items and a few other 120VAC and DC appliances is about all my batteries would allow in a one day/night battery run. Then I will re-charge my battery bank the next morning during breakfast in around three hours using smart-mode charging technology with my 2KW Honda Generator when allowed to run it at the camp sites.

I drew up this simplified diagram to help a friend doing his trailer and shows some info that might be interesting to you.


Doing it this way doesn't get all involved in transfer relays and separating out the different 120VAC circuit breakers etc you might to use with the INVERTER.

The downside of course is you have to plug something into this method in order to use it. Nothing automatic.

This is the also the main reason for selecting a PURE SINE WAVE type INVERTER for my installations. I don't have to worry if it is compatible or not with the appliances being plugged into it. Certainly don't want anything to go up in "blue" smoke or running extremely hot... With the 120VAC emergency power receptacle out in plain view is inviting for anyone to just plug something into it. It will go "POOF" in a hurry if not compatible.

just my thoughts
Roy Ken

[stef57]

Bobbo wrote:
Why not wire the entertainment center ALWAYS to the inverter, even when on shore power? If boondocking, it will work. If on shore power, it will work and the converter will keep the battery charged. No transfer switches, no plugging/unplugging. Nothing to remember.

Just take the wire powering the entertainment center out of its breaker, and hook it permanently to the inverter.

I thought of that, but would the converter keep up to the inverter? And keep the batteries charged?

[12thgenusa]

pianotuna wrote:
12 volt batteries will tolerate a 12 watt inverter. Six volts may not like it much due to lots of voltage drop.

I think you meant 1000 watt. However, I think this perception of 6-volt batteries not tolerating high loads is misleading. I have four 6-volt GC batteries and have powered a microwave (132 amps) at 50% SOC without triggering the low voltage alarm. Many folks power high draw equipment with series parallel or series 6-volt battery banks without issue. In fact, I'm guessing more do so with 6-volt than 12. While a 12-volt battery may provide high amperage with slightly less voltage drop than a 6-volt, it should not be the determining factor in choice of 6-volt vs. 12-volt batteries, IMO.

[stef57]

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Which inverter did you find? Link?

12 volt batteries will tolerate a 12 watt inverter. Six volts may not like it much due to lots of voltage drop.

Here is the link
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/SolarPortablePower/Inverters/PRD~0111892P/MotoMaster+1000W+Pure+Sine+Wave+Inverter+w%2B+Remote+Control.jsp?locale=en&stop_mobi=yes

[Bobbo]

Why not wire the entertainment center ALWAYS to the inverter, even when on shore power? If boondocking, it will work. If on shore power, it will work and the converter will keep the battery charged. No transfer switches, no plugging/unplugging. Nothing to remember.

Just take the wire powering the entertainment center out of its breaker, and hook it permanently to the inverter.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

Which inverter did you find? Link?

12 volt batteries will tolerate a 1200 watt inverter. Six volts may not like it much due to lots of voltage drop.

[stef57]

I'm ok giving up on the coffee maker.
I also found a better inverter (I think?) it's 1000w pure sine
We just bought this camper and for now I'm only running 2 batteries(1 - 27 dc and 1 - 31dc) the goal is to replace them with 4- 6v golf cart batteries by next year.

I appreciate all your comments!
I want a foul proof system as I can be pretty forgetful and I know that if I have manually flip breakers and switches, I'll be blowing something up at some point...
An automatic transfer switch sounds like the way to go. I should be able to pick 1 up locally at a electrical wholesaler shouldn't I?

[pianotuna]

The default for my converter is unplugged.

When I have only 15 amp power I run the converter to charge the battery bank--and run the rest of my rv from the inverter. It makes life much simpler for me.

[naturist]

I'm gonna go with @Golden_HVAC, and suggest that unless you have at least 4 house batteries, you are not going to be happy with that inverter. The coffee maker alone will drain battery power like crazy, and a 1200 watt inverter is way more than you need for the TV. The inverter itself is going to be a large and very inefficient drain when powering just the TV.

I think I'd lose the coffemaker. Get yourself one that uses propane instead, then size the inverter just for the TV. Then you won't NEED a transfer switch, as when you wanna watch the tube on battery, you switch the plug and turn on the inverter instead of just the TV. That's a LOT less work than wiring up the transfer switch, and cheaper to boot.